The Road to Wigan Pier

The Road to Wigan Pier is a 1937 nonfiction book by George Orwell. The book describes Orwell’s firsthand experiences of life in Great Britain’s working-class communities in the early 20th century and advocates for the adoption of socialism.

Summary

The Road to Wigan Pier begins in a small lodging house in Northern England. The impoverished, rundown house rents crowded rooms to people who work in the nearby mines. The landlord, Mr. Brooker, was once a miner and now owns a meat store that operates out of the lodging house. Mrs. Brooker lays on her couch for most of the day and shouts orders at everyone around her. Orwell is staying in one of the house’s cramped bedrooms, sharing the space with miners, salesmen, tradesmen, or old people who simply have nowhere else to live. The dirty, germ-infested house is representative of many similar homes in many similar working-class communities.

Orwell visits the nearby mines, which are dangerous places to work, offering no room to move and negatively affecting the health of everyone inside. Gas, dust, and low ceilings destroy the miners’ bodies, and Orwell can barely manage a few hours in the mine before returning above ground.